Frozen in time

Sunset over Kansas, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

I'm in Sydney as I write this, but earlier this month I flew to Kansas City, to visit with my daughter and her family. I've often commented that 'just above' the clouds is my favorite place on the planet. And I've been in many places on the planet!

So here I was, at sunset, early December. The sky is turning those gorgeous colors. The camera takes a great shot, but nothing compared to the real colors. It's a little 'less.' Maybe that's why the Almighty said not to make an image of anything 'above, or on the earth, or of things under the earth'. When we make an image, we actually 'freeze' something at a moment, and miss motion. We miss smell. We miss the rest of its reality.

Now don't get me wrong. I love photography. I have over 15,000 photos on this Flickr site from which the "Sunset over Kansas" shot was taken.

What I'm saying is that when we shoot an image, when we make a sculpture, when we draw a painting... we are pausing time, we are stopping motion, we are saying "This is it"

And honestly, it's not it. There are other stories to tell. There are other things going on that are not recorded. For instance, what's going on on the other side of this wing? And of the other side of this plane? And inside the plane, near where I am? So many stories, but you are only looking at one image, frozen in time.

Enjoy it, and enjoy any other of my photos, but in the end, look up from the computer. Look up from your book. Look up from your own life and see what else is going on. Find the world alive and real. After all, the "earth is the Lord's and the fullness of it" (Psalm 24.1) so that our Creator could receive the praise due Him. Even from you. And from me.